With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 120, Those who deserve to die are not, those who want to live cannot be.
Others can easily switch jobs and change bosses, but Gao Shun disdains and is ashamed to do so.

When Gao Shun arrived at the execution site, he stood still, looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, cursing, "What a pity, Cao Cao was too stingy, he didn't even give me a bowl of wine before I died."

Lu Bu glanced at him, somewhat envious of Gao Shun's magnanimity, but Lu Bu ultimately could not face death with equanimity.

He has a wife and daughter, and he is reluctant to leave them.

He has the ability to look down on the world, but he hasn't lived enough yet.

Someone brought a very thick rope, crossed it twice around Lü Bu's neck, and was about to strangle him.

This taste is something most people couldn't stand.

Xu Huang, looking down from his vantage point, had a clear view of everything. Just as Lü Bu was about to be executed, Xu Huang lost his composure. But at that moment, he saw two familiar figures from his vantage point.

Zhao Yun spurred his horse and galloped forward, his bow already drawn.

The precious eagle was like a full moon, and Zhao Yun swiftly shot out the arrow, which brought with it a piercing whistling sound.

puff puff!

Zhao Yun fired two arrows in quick succession. The first arrow severed the ropes binding Lü Bu.

The second arrow knocked the executioner's sword, which was about to behead Gao Shun, to the ground.

Behind Zhao Yun was a horse, and sitting on it was none other than the current emperor, Liu Xie.

Liu Xie's sudden appearance was seen by many people on the White Gate Tower, and someone hurriedly reported it to Cao Cao.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao quickly walked to the city wall, placed his hand on the crenellations, and looked down.

As expected, it was Liu Xie who arrived. Cao Cao clenched his fingers tightly, gritted his teeth, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.

What you fear most is exactly what happens!
If Liu Xie had arrived any later, after killing Lü Bu, Cao Cao would have had plenty of excuses to cover up the matter.

But now that Liu Xie has appeared, killing Lü Bu would be tantamount to disregarding the emperor.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, the emperor is the greatest!

With so many soldiers in front of him, and the emperor's face at stake, would Cao Cao dare to refuse?

Guo Jia walked over, looked down, and secretly groaned; His Majesty's arrival was truly ill-timed.

But for Liu Xie, it came at just the right time.

Gao Shun was somewhat stunned, looking blankly at Liu Xie, while Lü Bu, having narrowly escaped death, revealed a look of wild joy on his face.

Zhao Yun approached, coldly glanced at the Cao soldiers carrying out the execution, and loudly proclaimed, "By order of His Majesty, neither of these two should be killed!"

The executioners looked at each other, then subconsciously glanced at Cao Cao on the White Gate Tower. Cao Cao waved to them.

Everyone waited patiently for Liu Xie.

Before long, Liu Xie arrived.

With a thud, before Liu Xie could dismount, Lü Bu had already knelt on the ground.

Liu Xie's appearance rekindled Lü Bu's hope.

"Your Majesty, spare my life! I am willing to surrender to the court and follow Your Majesty."

Just as Liu Xie was about to dismount, Zhao Yun approached. After all, he was the emperor, and he still had to be mindful of the emperor's dignity.

Zhao Yun helped Liu Xie dismount. Liu Xie glanced at the city wall, gave a gentle smile, and greeted Cao Cao first.

Then, waving his hand, Liu Xie ordered, "Take Lü Bu and Gao Shun back to Baimen Tower."

Regardless, Lu Bu's inner strength has been revived.

Liu Xie was very considerate of Cao Cao's feelings, so he had to go see Cao Cao first and explain the matter.

If Liu Xie had made the decision to release the prisoners while they were outside the city, Cao Cao wouldn't have been able to stop him, but it would have ultimately made Cao Cao lose face.

Before long, Liu Xie arrived at the White Gate Tower, and Cao Cao was the first to kneel down, saying, "Welcome, Your Majesty."

Liu Bei and the others all knelt down on the ground, and even Chen Gong knelt down.

Liu Xie hurried a few steps to Cao Cao, and with a smile helped him up. "Lord Cao, please get up quickly. I didn't originally intend to come."

Cao Cao looked up at him, his face showing some displeasure, and thought to himself: You clearly said you weren't coming, but you still came anyway.
Liu Xie laughed and said, "It is like this. I saw Lü Bu's daughter in the city. Cao Gong, you know how men are, Lü Bu's daughter is quite beautiful, and I am very fond of her. General Cao Ren also knows about this."

Cao Ren had just come up from the city walls when he heard this. His lips twitched a few times as he thought to himself, "What do I know? When I arrived, you had already taken care of everything. The deed was done."

Cao Cao was both amused and exasperated. At this critical juncture, what was His Majesty saying that every man understood? What a load of rubbish!

Isn't this adding to the chaos?

Liu Xie continued, "Although it is a trivial matter that I have taken in Lü Bu's daughter, I still feel that I should come and inform Cao Cao. Lü Bu is now my brother-in-law, Cao Cao. You should at least show some consideration. If you kill Lü Bu, his daughter will be crying and wailing all day long, which would be a real downer."

Liu Xie spoke very politely, as if he were discussing something with Cao Cao, as if Cao Cao was the ruler and Liu Xie was the subject.

Cao Cao gritted his teeth and glared, feeling genuinely angry, but what could he say?

If a dispute arises, what if Liu Xie says something like, "Why can you sleep with Zhang Xiu's aunt, but I can't sleep with Lü Bu's daughter?"
Liu Xie's earlier statement, "Men all understand," was actually a subtle dig at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was silent for a while, then said, "Even if Your Majesty is fond of Lü Bu's daughter, Lü Bu has after all opposed the court and had an affair with Yuan Shu. His crimes are grave and cannot be easily forgiven."

Liu Xie had to be given face, but Cao Cao didn't want to let Lü Bu off so easily.

Guo Jia also advised, "Your Majesty, Cao Cao's words are reasonable. Lü Bu is fickle and unpredictable; we must be cautious."

Xun You, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, and others echoed his sentiments.

At this point, Liu Bei had already sensed that the wind was blowing in a different direction, so he stood quietly in place, wisely remaining silent.

Liu Bei never dreamed that Lü Bu, who had just been despised by everyone, would suddenly become the emperor's brother-in-law.

His status even surpassed that of Liu Bei, and he was almost on par with Cao Cao and Lü Bu.

The wind direction really does change in an instant!
Liu Xie turned around, and at this moment, Lü Bu and Gao Shun had already been brought back.

Liu Xie's face darkened. He walked up to Lü Bu, his hand almost touching Lü Bu's nose, and said solemnly, "Indeed, Lü Bu is fickle, opposes the court, has turned against Liu Bei, and has colluded with the traitor Yuan Shu. These are all irrefutable facts. I will not defend him, nor will I allow him to defend himself."

Liu Xie's attitude puzzled everyone, but then he raised his voice and said, "However, even disregarding Lü Bu's status as the emperor's brother-in-law, I will only say one thing today."

"The Emperor's brother-in-law?"

Lu Bu's eyes widened. "Can someone explain to me when I became the emperor's brother-in-law?"
Lu Bu had just arrived, and no one had told him yet. Liu Xie looked around at everyone and said loudly, "Back in Chang'an, Lu Bu personally killed the traitor Dong Zhuo. He made great contributions to the Han Dynasty and was very kind to me. The month after Dong Zhuo's death was the month when I slept the most peacefully and soundly!"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Just now, they had only thought about Lü Bu's fickle and uncontrollable nature, but no one cared whether he had ever contributed to the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bei couldn't help but look at Lü Bu again, and at this moment, Lü Bu's eyes were filled with tears of excitement.

"I didn't expect Your Majesty to still remember these things."

Eliminating the thief and rescuing the emperor was the thing Lü Bu was most proud of in his life. For so many years, no one had mentioned it, but today, Liu Xie brought it up in public.

Lu Bu was so moved that he knelt on the ground.

Liu Xie continued, "I will remember everyone who has been kind to the Han Dynasty. I built the Lingyan Pavilion in Xuchang. I will never forget anyone who has been kind to the Han Dynasty!"

As he spoke, Liu Xie walked towards Cao Cao and took the hand of the still somewhat bewildered Cao Cao.

Liu Xie said excitedly, "Cao Cao has been kind to the Han Dynasty. He assassinated Dong Zhuo and risked his life to save me. I not only remember this in my heart, but also wrote it on the wall of Lingyan Pavilion. Although Lü Bu has committed so many mistakes, gentlemen, I want to ask you, how should we repay his contributions to the Han Dynasty and his kindness to me? Is it enough to just grant him the title of Marquis of Wen?"

"If killing a traitor who has brought disaster to the country can be accomplished simply by bestowing a marquisate upon him, then I would be very happy to do so. I could bestow ten or eight marquises right now and have people bring me the heads of Yuan Shu and others. Wouldn't the world then be at peace? But is that even possible?"

When Lü Bu saw how much Liu Xie valued him and praised him in public, he was so moved that he couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Faced with Liu Xie's probing question, everyone was speechless.

Because Lü Bu's contributions were too great!
Just now, everyone was hoping to kill Lü Bu, simply because everyone deliberately ignored Lü Bu's achievements, and many people were completely on Cao Cao's side.

Even if Lü Bu's achievements were great, they were only for the benefit of the Han Dynasty and had nothing to do with Cao Cao.

However, Liu Xie stood up to defend Lü Bu because Liu Xie's stance represented the stance of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Xie once again raised his voice: "Lü Bu has made tremendous contributions to the Han Dynasty. Even if he deserves to be torn to pieces today, I will make an exception and spare his life! If someone with such great merit to the Han Dynasty is to be killed, then who will be loyal to the Han Dynasty in the future? Who will assist me?"

"This?" Cao Cao frowned, looking troubled.

Liu Xie has already said so much, so what reason does Cao Cao have to refute him?
Killing Lü Bu would be tantamount to killing a meritorious official of the Han Dynasty. Once the meritorious officials of the Han Dynasty were involved, it would be impossible to kill him.

The fact that Lü Bu killed Dong Zhuo is an achievement of immense magnitude.

"Then what does Your Majesty think should be done with Lü Bu? We can't just let him go like this, can we?" Since the matter was so difficult, Cao Cao simply threw the question to Liu Xie.

Everyone looked at Liu Xie, who remained expressionless and coldly said, "Even if the death penalty can be spared, he cannot escape punishment. Lü Bu has defied the court for no reason and betrayed Liu Bei for no reason. He cannot be let off lightly. Issue my order: he shall be severely punished with one hundred strokes of the military rod. Gao Shun shall be severely punished with fifty strokes of the military rod!"

One hundred lashes—many people gasped in shock. This punishment was far from lenient; even if they didn't die, they'd be half-dead.

Liu Xie did this to appease everyone and shut Cao Cao up.

Cao Cao had nothing to say and could only nod, "Very well, carry out the execution immediately!"

Lu Bu did not struggle or resist anymore. As long as he could survive, he could endure any amount of beatings.

Lu Bu and Gao Shun were pushed down again. Liu Xie glanced at Zhao Yun, and Zhao Yun quickly followed.

For a moment, clubs flew everywhere, and the soldiers carrying out the operation showed no mercy, but Lü Bu seemed to feel no pain at all.

His only wish was to see his wife and daughter again, because he had come back to life.

One hundred lashes left Lü Bu with torn skin and bloody flesh, but he was Lü Bu, with bones and muscles exceeding those of ordinary people, so it wasn't enough to kill him.

As for Gao Shun, fifty lashes were nothing to him; he didn't utter a sound from beginning to end.

Because of Liu Xie's interference, the eight generals around Lü Bu were destined to go down different paths.

Gao Shun was the most loyal to Lü Bu and showed the most courage; he was destined to continue following Lü Bu in the future.

The three betrayers—Hou Cheng, Wei Xu, and Song Xian—were all thrown into a panic.

Lü Bu became the emperor's brother-in-law and was spared the death penalty. From now on, they would see each other all the time, and Hou Cheng and the other two were immediately filled with anxiety and unease.

Once Lü Bu holds a grudge, he will definitely deal with them. If Lü Bu doesn't die, it means that it will be their turn to feel uneasy and lose sleep in the future.

Cao Xing shot Xiahou Dun blind, and Xiahou Dun has already killed him.

Zang Ba had troops and horses and was extremely powerful in Xuzhou. He didn't care at all; even if the imperial court couldn't take him in, he could continue to be a local warlord.

Cheng Lian and Hao Meng did not betray Lü Bu; they were also very excited and would most likely return to Lü Bu's side.

As for Zhang Liao, having just switched allegiance to Cao Cao, facing his former master again inevitably made him feel somewhat awkward.

But life is unpredictable, and the eight people fell apart, with some betraying, some remaining neutral, and others seeking new masters.

After the beating, Liu Xie waved his hand and led the man away.

Next, Liu Xie looked at Chen Gong and asked, "This must be Chen Gongtai, Lord Cao. What do you intend to do with him?"

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses and sighed helplessly, "Gongtai is determined to die, and there is nothing I can do."

Cao Cao had just finished bidding farewell to Chen Gong and drinking the wine, and was about to send Chen Gong on his way when Liu Xie interfered.

Chen Gong also looked at Liu Xie with curiosity. Liu Xie's appearance made Chen Gong suddenly realize that the emperor was not just a puppet in name only, as he had imagined.

Lu Bu, who was originally to be executed, miraculously survived, and Gao Shun was also spared.

This means that Liu Xie's forces have been strengthened. Chen Gong could not possibly believe that Lü Bu and his allies would follow Cao Cao. Clearly, the balance of power in the internal strife in Xuchang is constantly shifting.

"Gongtai."

Liu Xie called out again, bringing Chen Gong back to his senses.

Chen Gong quickly bowed and greeted His Majesty, "Chen Gong greets Your Majesty."

Liu Xie pleaded, "Lord Cao values ​​you highly, I can see that. He can't bear to see you die. How about this, listen to me, keep your useful body, and serve the court in the future?

Cao Cao looked at Chen Gong, thinking about the future situation. Today's events had greatly exceeded his expectations.

I was hoping to die, but I didn't; I survived!

I didn't want to die before, but now I actually want to die.

That's right, he now wants Chen Gong dead.

Because Cao Cao had already done his best, but Chen Gong would never assist him even if he died, so Chen Gong had to die!
Now that Liu Xie has persuaded him to stay, Cao Cao is even more eager for Chen Gong to die, because if Liu Xie persuades him to stay, he will only remember Liu Xie's kindness and will not be loyal to Cao Cao in the future!

(End of this chapter)